Art Crawl

Art Crawl was good to me last night, and I sold some of my original day of the dead pieces that showed in the exhibit. So, it looks like I'll be back in the studio keeping busy!

Time flies when you're throwing on the wheel! I finished up a couple of pieces on Friday!

If you happened to have stumbled upon my blog from a business card, then please 'Like' my official page on Facebook, so you can keep up with updates, my blog postings, and any information on sales, or exhibits! I don't post ALL the time, so don't worry about me spamming up your front page with useless crap. :)

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I'm working on getting my photos back from my photographer to get my ETSY store posted soon. Keep an eye peeled for my store launch! I'll have plenty of pieces to sale!

I hope everyone is enjoying, or enjoyed their weekend!

Thanks for stopping by!

Can ye fathom the ocean, dark and deep...

....where the mighty waves and the grandeur sweep?

And where squids and whales sleep.

I've finished another series. and they're now nestling in a nice warm kiln... unscathed and not cracked.... hopefully.

Did you know, that I am uneasy about squids and octopus, and I get satisfaction in conquering the beasts of the sea when I bite into some fried calamari on an Asian buffet?

Octopus and squids are weird. I was traumatized after watching something on the history channel about how they have these giant beaks, and can literally snap through a thick metal cable, which they then compared to a human bone.

Still not creeped out?

They're smart... REALLY smart, from the way they attack their prey, and plan their dinner. Screw Moby Dick. I am afraid of squids and other tentacle beasts of the ocean deep.

Why do I paint them and draw them? I don't know. I don't have a phobia, but rather a genuine uneasiness about them. Either way, I am excited to see how these turn out.

Also, here's another shot including two other pieces that are prepped to be refired after testing some glaze out. I'm pretty excited about them as well.

Lovely ladies

I'm still using my victorian lady bust template on a couple of pieces. I popped these into the kiln last night. Hopefully, they turn out ok!

And just for fun. Here's a picture of a chair I painted over at the Houston

House Arts Center back in the Spring. It was based on a Gibson Girl print. It's still not finished. I think it's in the basement being friendly with the black widows.

Blue period

Picasso had his blue period, so it should only be befitting that my pottery came out blue. However, my intentions were not to convey sadness, despair, or poverty behind my work. In fact, it was pure accident.

Hallelujah, the kiln I operate out of is fixed! After some test runs I decided to load it up with all of my porcelain casted greenware pieces that I painted an underglaze on, and give it a whirl. I had also forgotten that I had mixed some stain into a couple of the pieces when I was slip casting.

Well, to make a long story short, everything has a blue tint to it. I like it, because it mimics a rustic speckled look.

Since this was pure accident, then I'm certain I'll never be able to recreate it.

Ohio bowl.

I also have a suspicion that the kiln is firing a little bit hotter than expected, or it's ramping up too quickly, because I noticed on this load that a vase I had made for my Grandmother completely slumped over.

Also, I noticed that all my pieces were so smooth like they had a small hint of a gloss to them, but I had not added a clear coat to any of them. This to me is a sign that the kiln might to firing too hot, too quickly, so I'm going to venture out this evening, and by Cone 4 pyrometric cones to see if firing it to a lower heat will cure my problem.

I've been firing all of my pieces to Cone 6, which is considered high firing, which is more common for Stoneware, than porcelain, but I was assured that the porcelain slip I was using could go up to cone 6. Anyways, these pieces will all get a nice clear coat, and then be fired to a low temp, and then they should be good to go! HORRAY, finally some completed pieces!

Fur Sho'-

I have a lot of deadlines coming up soon. I have to get some pieces completed for the Member's Show at the Houston House Arts Center, and then I have a deadline at the beginning on September for an alternative craft show that will happen during the winter holiday season.

Pinup bowl-bisque fired.

Maybe it's a good thing I wasn't able to finish for the deadline for Crafting Outlaws, because I found out over 190 people applied to be a vendor, and they're only picking 50 people to represent. A lot of those people will most likely be vendors who were grandfathered in from previous years, and who have sponsored the event.

Birds on a wire.

OH YEAH---- I almost forgot! If you have a Facebook the you can 'LIKE' Little Black Dog Pottery now! Cool, right?

Click HERE for Facebook.

I have FINALLY, set up an Etsy store for purchases!

Click HERE for my Etsy Store!

PROGRESS!!!